Danny Healy-Rae urges removal of trees after storm blackouts
Danny Healy-Rae addressed recent storm and snow damage, praising Kerry voters and urging action after electricity failures. He said fallen trees caused outages and called for trees near roads and lines to be removed and for upgrades to the lines.
He described how the storm and snow combined to cut electricity when trees fell onto lines, and cited a fatal incident in Donegal where a young man was killed by a falling tree.
He called for urgent corrective action, saying trees within falling distance of roads and power lines must be dealt with and asking those responsible to ensure recognition and remedies are given. He insisted the lines will have to be upgraded to prevent repeats.
He thanked local authorities, DSB, the air and fire squads, mountain rescue teams and the farming community. He named contractors and the Kelly brothers for clearing roads and rescuing families in Cordell, Brasne, Scottedlin and Guinea-Brill.
He thanked the people of Kerry for re-electing him and his brother, congratulated the new government and made a brief procedural comment about speaking time and exchanges with another deputy.
Storm damage and power outages
He described how the storm and snow combined to cut electricity when trees fell onto lines, and cited a fatal incident in Donegal where a young man was killed by a falling tree.
Call for tree removal and line upgrades
He called for urgent corrective action, saying trees within falling distance of roads and power lines must be dealt with and asking those responsible to ensure recognition and remedies are given. He insisted the lines will have to be upgraded to prevent repeats.
Thanks to emergency services and local workers
He thanked local authorities, DSB, the air and fire squads, mountain rescue teams and the farming community. He named contractors and the Kelly brothers for clearing roads and rescuing families in Cordell, Brasne, Scottedlin and Guinea-Brill.
Political and constituency remarks
He thanked the people of Kerry for re-electing him and his brother, congratulated the new government and made a brief procedural comment about speaking time and exchanges with another deputy.
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Transcript
Thank you very much, and first of all I want to thank the people of Kerry for sending me up here again for the third time, and I want to thank each and every one of them. We all know who we are, the people that voted for me, my family and all the people who voted for me. I thank you all so much for depending on me and sending me up here again to talk to the people of Kerry, and to represent Kerry, and also for electing Michael, my brother. Look, don't tell them I'm here at all, there's a lot of people trying to stop me talking, don't let them know that I'm here at all, but I'll stay here as long as the people of Kerry want me to stay, and not because of the big rogers, they don't want to allow me to talk. First of all I want to congratulate the new government, and I wish you well. But we're talking about the storm, and I have a lot more to say, and thanks for the people of Kerry, but we are talking about the storm, and the snow of course, because the two things were combined, the same thing happened both times, the electricity went out. And basically it is caused by trees falling up in lines, and we see the sad episode where a tree fell open, a young man going home from work in Donegal, it's the same if it was Kerry outside our door, he was one of our own, and he was killed by a falling tree. There should be no tree ministers within falling distance of the road or the lines. Full stop. That's the lesson that we've learned, and I'm asking, I'm not blaming for what's not done up till now, I'm asking to correct it now, and depending on that he will. And whose ever responsibility it is, maybe it is my brother's, I'll be asking him and all of you to ensure that recognition is given to the trees that are falling down on top of the people. I want to thank the people who did so much. The local authorities, DSB, and especially the people who went out to people with artistic children, and got it going for them. And the air, the fire squad, the mountain rescue team that rescued the families in Cordell, because there was three places badly affected in both events. Cordell, Brasne, Scottedlin, and Guinea-Brill. I don't want this happening anymore, and I'll watch. This will have to stop, and the lines will have to be upgraded, and thank you for your indulgence, but look, we have to thank the farming community, all of them, and then the Kelly brothers, like others, contractors that cleared the roads up to Cordell, and all those places, they were still there in sight. Deputy Healy Ray, we have to bring this to a conclusion. Thank you very much, Cahillic, but my time was eaten until... I give you the full two minutes, and I only hit it when your time was up. I give you the full time. You took plenty extra. All right, thanks very much.